The 17th Century Poetry (Metaphysical Poetry)

The Medieval age was an age of conflicts between the old and the new, Renaissance and Reformation, religion and love and finally science and religion. Before Christianity prevailed religion dominate people’s life and attitude, so we can say that it wad an age of intellectual complexity. Metaphysical poetry is considered the outcome of intellectual complexity. Beside Humanism, three elements dominate this age; Platonism, Stoicism and Protestantism which had now taken its place as a strongly formed Christian sect.
Science was another feature of the age, it had the powerful influence on people’s thinking. Modern science had refuted what had been thought, so it led to the appearance of doubt as feature of the age. People doubted every thing around them. Another influence of science was apparent in poetry, instead of simplicity and straight forwardness of the Elizabethan poetry we find complexity and ambiguity. Science became the rival of religion. Science had affected the metaphysical poets in their interest on the subtle analysis of the mind. People became interested in revolution rather than total submission to the church. In the preceding age the people were religious even scientific thinkers, looking at things from a religious point of view.
Dr Johnson comments on the metaphysical poets, saying that they were men of learning who tried hard to show their learning in their poetry. He denied them the name poet, but this seems a cruel judgment, it is the least fitted of the description given to metaphysical poets formed a school of poetry which had its own independent qualities.
John Dryden says that metaphysical poets aim at confusing the readers by expressing complexity in their poems. He says that they have false wit, but again this is quite unacceptable judgment of the quality of the metaphysical poets.
Really, the metaphysical poets seem so interested in the scientific influence on people. We can say that they were intellectual poets who were fond of the subtle analysis of the mind. They analyzed emotions rather than expressing them. A poetry of this kind needed special characteristics and using different style and idioms were necessary, so it was different from the Elizabethan poetry which was characterized by simplicity and straight forwardness.
The metaphysical poets were men of learning, but they didn’t show of their learning, what they want to do was to show the influence of science on people’s life.
T.S. Eliot says that before the age of the metaphysical poetry, the mind and the heart were strangers, and the metaphysical poetry is deep and profound. He says that they were the first to combine or unite the mind and the heart or in other words reason and emotion, he called this unification of sensibility.

See you later, all my love to you.